James Horwill dropped as Wallabies captain against England; Ben Mowen in as skipper

Updated
Thu 31 Oct 2013, 10:44 PM AEDT

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Change of role ... James Horwill has been told to focus on his own performance, leaving the captaincy to Ben Mowen for the Wallabies' Test against England.

AFP, Greg Wood

Ben Mowen will captain the Wallabies against England at Twickenham on Sunday (AEDT) after James Horwill was dropped as skipper by coach Ewen McKenzie.

The news, along with the selection of Quade Cooper as vice-captain, comes amid confirmation that lock Rob Simmons will miss the match after re-injuring the medial ligament in his left knee during training.

The change of captain was announced in a statement announcing the Wallabies team, which said Horwill had been asked by McKenzie to focus solely on his own individual playing performance without the responsibility of the captaincy.

"McKenzie wants Horwill to rediscover the aggression and power that has been a hallmark of his career, which will be integral to Saturday's contest against a physically-renowned England side at Twickenham," the statement said.

The coach has picked Reds fly half Quade Cooper as the new vice-captain in support of Mowen, who will captain Australia for the second time.

"There's no doubting James is a world-class leader but it's important he is putting his own personal performance first and playing to the level we know he is capable of on a weekly basis," McKenzie said.

"By his own lofty standards, James would admit he hasn't been at peak form. So, we've made the decision to this week remove the added pressures and responsibilities of being a captain so that he can focus entirely on bringing his 'A' game.

"Ben now gets another opportunity to lead his country, while we're recognising Quade for the ongoing decision-making role he plays on the field and the positive involvements he continues to make in contributing to the culture of the team off the field."

However McKenzie said the leadership choices were only confirmed for the England match, and all selections would be re-assessed before the second international against Italy.

Sitaleki Timani comes into the starting line-up to replace Simmons, while Mowen moves to number eight with the return of Scott Fardy as blindside flanker.

The Western Force's Nick Cummins will start on the wing and Brumbies' playmaker Christian Leali'ifano will come off the bench on his return from injury.